10 Dumbest Things In Star Trek: Picard

10. The Stewart "Directive"

No starships, no uniforms, no Starfleet.

Patrick Stewart was very clear on his vision for Picard when its first season went into production. This was Jean-Luc Picard's story, so it wouldn't be a Next Generation story. The show would be a "What JLP Did Next" and spin off in new directions away from the "confines" of the Starfleet rules and regulations. 

It was a vision that rang true for the first season, where Riker and Troi dropped in for an episode, and Data's legacy was the overarching thread that tied everything together. Indeed, the finale of that first year fairly firmly closed the Data story with his final ember being deactivated. Data was no more. For a second time.

Season two might have brought back the Borg Queen, Guinan, Wesley Crusher and Q, but once again steered firmly away from being a Next Generation narrative with mixed results. The Next Generation faces were guests on Picard rather than the main attraction. So fans would have expected similar from season three - until it was announced that it would be a TNG reunion with starships, uniforms and Starfleet.

Maybe unsurprisingly to the community of the three seasons, it was a far superior setup and execution than the previous two years, filled with familiar characters from start to finish. It was what fans had wanted since day one and took the producers, including Stewart, 20 episodes to realise that needed to happen to engage the fanbase. 

Can't knock them for trying, though.